In 2022, near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris Daleiden saw an article about an area nonprofit’s need for help putting together Easter baskets for foster and at-risk children.
Chris, the community service director of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village, thought it would be a great club project.
She approached then President Mike Dutra, who got the club to allocate money. That money, along with donations from club members, enabled the Westlake Rotary Club to put together baskets for children supported by James Storehouse, a Newbury Park 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps children in foster care, young people aging out of foster care and exploited and at-risk children.
“People donated and got so excited about it. We did 75 baskets,” she said. “We had 20 volunteers that year.”
James Storehouse reported last year it served over 1,600 people a month in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The club’s commitment to the project has continued. On Monday, April 7, 2025, club members and other volunteers gathered at KCLU in Thousand Oaks to again build 75 baskets using money donated by the club and its members.
“This is the one thing we get the most members involved in for community service,” Chris said.
Over the years, the need has grown. In 2022, James Storehouse had a goal of 600 baskets. This year it is 1,000. “It just shows you the need that is going on out there in the world,” Chris said.
